Missions And Methods

At ProRates our mission is to provide our clients with the most accurate and useful
information possible, including alerts that may change how they think or design
their own products. We are not a sales organization or a data base management company;
however we indulge in all aspects of a company participating in the market research
arena with an eye on our client’s goals. You come first, our products and services
are designed for the best presentation and readability, our customer service is
provided to help resolve all issues that you may encounter. Our over twenty-five
years of experience in the bank product research business has allowed us to grow
in knowledge and experience and see numerous trends and products come and go. We
see ourselves as an extended staff for our clients available anytime to be reliable,
responsive, professional, and focused.

Our method of updating and tracking information includes: phone call surveys to
customer service departments for verification of details, verbal discussions with
clients, receiving rate sheets based on client contracts, maintaining relationships
with non client institutions, as well as utilizing proprietary web query software
designed and maintained in house which gathers and audits information both quickly
and electronically. Red flag reviews of changes keep bad data exceptions out of
your survey. The data flow from rate sheet to SQL data base is a process originally
developed here at ProRates using groundbreaking technology with error review and
reporting. This meticulous process avoids the tedious and faulty ten-key data entry,
as well as handwriting, reading and interpreting. Human intervention with data tends
to be the highest cause of error within data management and often cannot be tracked
back to its source. We have eliminated nearly all of these issues in order to produce
a perfect and accurate report for our clientele every time.

We have also designed and currently employ an automated delivery system using proprietary
windows business server technology which allows reports to be sent to a predetermined
saved list of clients (emailed or posted to web).

All product data for loan, deposit and mortgage reports are gathered based on certain
default criteria. Our customers can decide which criteria will be used for their
survey data and thusly displayed in their report. Some details will need to be determined
ahead of time for surveys which do not show all data detail.

Criteria used for surveys related to mortgage products are as follows; Owner-occupied,
Existing single family home, conforming loan amount $240,000, with a home value
of $300,000 (20% down payment), Jumbo loan amount of $440,000 (or greater than the
current conforming amount), with a home value of $550,000, standard lock period
determined by lender, escrow/impounds are included, closest to zero discount points
and minimum origination points, APR as quoted by lender, (this may be calculated
by ProRates as an alternative, but will include rate and total points, no fees),
customer credit score of 720+, no relationship discount. City, county and state
is based on the location of the client and will be used in all rate gathering.

ARM loans are based on the standard margin of 2.75%, and typically are based on
one year CMT. Other index products are available at client request. Adjustment periods
are standard determined by the product, Annual and life CAPS are typically 2% and
6%. All quotes assume no prepayment penalties without negative amortization. All
rates are valid as of the survey date and should not be compared to rates from any
other date, or using different criteria.

SECURED and UNSECURED LOANS:
Much of the criteria is determined by the lender, though details are included in
all surveys or stated in the summary title. Our Client determines which fields they
would like to appear in the summary or detail report. Rates are without any discounts.
City, county and state are based on the location of the client and will be used
in all rate gathering. Each lender determines the tiers, based on term, dollar amount,
credit scores etc. All tiers are included in our data base for each lender and product
unless otherwise stated.

DEPOSIT products:
Much of the criteria is determined by the institution, though details are included
in all surveys or stated in the summary title. Client determines which fields they
would like to appear in the summary or detail report. Rates are without relationship
‘bumps’. Promotional products are surveyed separately and identified as such. City,
county and state is based on the location of the client and will be used in all
rate gathering. Each institution determines the tiers, based on term and/or dollar
amounts. All tiers are included in our data base for each institution and product
unless otherwise stated.